Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Lowered by Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC

Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,638 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 4.0% of Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $201.08 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $202.61 and a 200 day moving average of $220.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.